Global audiences will typically associate the word “German” with efficiency, logic and practicality. Humour and emotion tend to be low on the list, if at all.
Having attended international schools ourselves, we had a hunch that the main reason families would choose the International School of Stuttgart (ISS) was an indescribable, accepting, feeling. Considering our video's target audience was the local German market, we knew we’d have a challenge selling this emotionally-driven concept.
Being one of the few English speaking schools in the region, prospective expat students were likely to visit ISS while German families were not. If our understanding of German culture held any ground, “the feeling” would not be a strong enough reason to convince locals to visit campus, let alone pay for education.
Public schools in Germany are strong and free, so tuition paying options are rarely considered. Our video needed to present an argument in a logical format proving why this so-called “feeling” has important long and short-term benefits that surpass the emotional realm.
One evening, after days of developing our idea, Rob in classic Film Guys fashion announced that we needed to ‘kill our darlings’ for a totally fresh direction: a scientific video. We were presenting the script to our client in the morning, yet there was no turning back --this was the concept. The plan began to take shape: within different branches of science, leading experts would deliver indisputable facts conveying the significance of “the feeling” to the rational-minded German audience.
Running on low fuel, though very pleased with the script, we walked into ISS the following day. They loved it. Soon after we began preparations for filming. With the help of ISS’s onsite chemists, physicists, naturalists, anthropologists, mathematicians and gummy bear experts, we set out to answer our hypothesis:
Does “the feeling” influence the learning environment?
Spoiler: it does.
Acknowledgements:
This video came to life in large thanks to our two student production assistants, Laura and Alice. In the final week of school with exams over, the girls’ teachers permitted them to spend their school days filming with us: excitedly setting up scenes, directing fellow students, recording audio and sprinting back to our office for needed items. When we get enthusiasm like what these girls showed us, it makes the video radiate with energy. Thank you both!
